Big Boss Interview

President Joe Biden is on a peacemaking mission in the Middle East, where he's met with Saudi Arabia's crown prince. Mr Biden once pledged to make the country a global pariah. But does the need for oil detract from human rights concerns? We hear two perspectives on what the trip will achieve from Middle East analyst Sami Hamdi, and US financier Chris Lowe.

Countries around the globe are getting used to hotter temperatures. We hear how humans - and penguins - are being forced to adjust.

Kully Sandhu, an aviation recruitment specialist, explains why London's Heathrow is among the most difficult airports to travel through right now.

It's one of India's biggest cultural exports. But Bollywood fans are staying at home as the industry deals with the rise of streaming.

To discuss all these issues and more, Business Matters is joined by two guests from opposite corners of the world: in Malaysia, financial professional Jessica Khine; and Marketplace reporter Andy Uhler in Texas.

(Picture: Joe Biden is welcomed to Mecca by a Saudi delegation. Credit: Getty Images).

The US President, Joe Biden, says he 'won't be quiet' on the matter of human rights as he travels to Saudi Arabia for crucial trade talks. But there's concern from pro-democracy groups about the ethics of the trip, as well as questions over what outcomes it will achieve. Sarah Leah Whitson, a colleague and friend of Jamal Khashoggi, joins us on the programme alongside Bloomberg energy analyst Fernando Valle.

Business Matters is also joined by Samon Ellis from Bloomberg's Taipei Bureau, and Hayley Woodin, the executive editor of Business in Vancouver magazine.

We'll hear the latest from Sri Lanka and Italy, two countries in political turmoil over the condition of their economies.

Meanwhile, the NFL wants to make American football an Olympic sport. But it's already got competition from Nigeria. The owner of a successful Lagos football team, Alaezi Akpuru, tells us why the sport's growth could be big business for Africa.

Protests are continuing after Sri Lanka's leader, Gotabaya Rajapaska, fled the country for the Maldives. With such political instability, is there any hope of economic recovery? We hear from people at the centre of the unfolding crisis: human rights lawyer Bhavani Fonseca in Colombo, activist Amalini De Sayrah, and Professor Shanta Devarajan, a former Chief Economist at the World Bank.

Elswhere, and some businesses are at a standstill in Beijing as China deals with a major heatwave. In the US and Canada, there's a race to bring down bulging inflation rates. Credit Canada's CEO, Bruce Sellery, explains why the country's central bank had few options.

We'll also about a policy to force public workers in the Philippines to smile. Psychology professor Paula Niedenthal tells us why it might not have a happy ending.

Joining us throughout the programme are Takara Small, a tech reporter based in Toronto; and James Mayger, Bloomberg's economics reporter in Beijing.

(Picture: Protesters surround the Prime Minister's office compound in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. Credit: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images).

Twitter wants a court to force Elon Musk to complete his planned takeover. The world's richest man had threatened to walk away following a long-running feud with the social media firm's board.

In a historic day for global currency markets, one US dollar has hit parity with the Euro. Berkeley economics professor Maurice Obstfeld explains why it might not be bad news for European businesses.

We meet the Belgian teenagers who want to revolutionise period products, and a French restauranteur, Didier Quemener, tells us about the supply shortage that's making his customers steal jars of Dijon mustard.

Throughout the programme we're joined by Maryland university professor Peter Morici, and Stella Bangura, an award-winning TV presenter in Sierra Leone.

(Picture: Elon Musk's relationship with Twitter has been explosive. Credit: Getty Images).

Russia has halted its gas supply to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline for ten days to do annual maintenance works. But the German government fears the flow of natural gas might not be resumed after repairs are completed. We talk about the potential consequences with Paula Rodriguez-Masiu, Head of Market Intelligence at Spanish oil and gas company CEPSA.

Elon Musk has pulled out of his US$44 bn deal to buy Twitter but the platform won't let him go so easily. The firm could now file a lawsuit to force the acquisition to go ahead as the failed takeover causes shares to plummet. We hear more from John Coffee, professor of law at Columbia Law School in New York and former advisor to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

Images by the James Webb telescope, the largest and most powerful ever launched into space, have been shown to the public for the first time. We talk about their relevance with Greg Redfern from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Petrol and gas supplies have begun to trickle to Sri Lanka's population after days of political turmoil that have ended with the President and the Prime Minister fleeing the country and announcing their disposition to resign. We hear from University of St Andrews' Anthropologist Vindhya Buthpitiya.

Sam Fenwick discusses these and other big business news throughout the programme with Forbes' assistant managing editor Diane Brady, in New York, and The Smart Investor's co-founder David Kuo, in Singapore.

(Picture: Gas compressor station in Mallnow. Picture credit: EPA)

The billionaire businessman Elon Musk has backed out of a $44bn deal to buy social media site Twitter. Mr Musk said he'd pulled out because Twitter failed to provide sufficient information on the number of spam and fake accounts. But the world's richest man faces a $1bn break-up fee and possible lawsuit by opting out. Shares in Twitter fell by 7% in extended trading after Mr Musk's announcement.

Elsewhere, we get more reaction to the shock news of Shinzo Abe's assassination in Japan and look at his policy of 'Abenomics'.

Rahul Tandon is joined by Yoko Ishikura, Professor Emeritus of Hitotsubashi University in Japan and Paddy Hirsch, contributing editor at NPR based in Los Angeles.

(Image: Elon Musk Official Twitter account seen displayed on a smartphone with a Twitter logo in the background. Credit: Getty Images)

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigns as Conservative party leader, we look at his economic legacy. The news follows a raft of ministerial resignations and will trigger a leadership election at the heart of the country's government. We assess his impact on the global economy and ask what his successor will need to do from an business perspective.

Rahul Tandon is joined by the journalist and author Madhavan Narayanan in New Delhi, India, and by Hayley Woodin, Executive Editor of Business in Vancouver.

(Image:UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to address the nation as he announces his resignation outside 10 Downing Street on July 7, 2022 in London, England. Credit: Getty Images)

Conflict and instability are driving demand for crude oil down, but how long will it be before other prices fall? We're talking energy on Business Matters, with the help of Washington-based oil industry analyst Dr Sara Vakhshouri, and Thierry Boss, a French energy expert. Political reporter Erin Dallmore also joins us from New York.

After another stormy day in British politics, a former UK Treasury official, Jeevun Sandher, tells us why the furore surrounding Prime Minister Boris Johnson may be bad news for investment and growth.

It was a victory for England on the football pitch as the Women's Euros got underway in Manchester. Former professional player and now entrepreneur, Haley Rosen, tells us how building a media business netted her millions.

(Picture: Oil barrels piled high. Credit: Getty Images).

It might just be the film of the year. LA entertainment reporter KJ Matthews tells us why Marvel's latest blockbuster is likely to hammer the competition on its opening weekend.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has quit, saying he can no longer serve Prime Minister Boris Johnson. His resignation followed that of Health Secretary Sajid Javid. Taking over from Sunak is the former Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi. We pick through the day's events with Financial Times Whitehall Editor Sebastian Payne.

With concerns over gas supply from Russia increasing in Germany, we get analysis from Dr Katja Yafimava from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

Sam Fenwick is joined by Alison Van Diggelen, host of the Fresh Dialogues podcast in Silicon Valley in San Francisco, and Bloomberg reporter James Mayger in Beijing.

(Image: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak reacts as he leaves the 11 Downing Street, in London, on March 23, 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

Ukraine's President Zelensky says it could cost $750 million to reconstruct the country after the war with Russia. He says it should be paid for with assets seized from oligarchs.

We explore the financial impact of the changes to US abortion laws. Twenty six of the country's 50 states are either certain or considered likely to introduce new abortion restrictions or bans.

Sam Fenwick is joined by Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Consulting Editor of The Print in New Delhi and Ralph Silva from Silva Research Network in Toronto to discuss these and the other big business stories of the day.

(Image: A police officer stands in front of the entrance of the Palazzo dei Congressi on the eve of a two-day international conference on reconstruction of Ukraine in Lugano on July 3, 2022. Credit: Getty Images)